Key dates and times for Yorkshire Christmas markets

Christmas markets in York, Leeds and Sheffield will soon be open, welcoming visitors and locals as the festive season gets underway.

The markets, typically selling food, drink and handmade gifts, will open in Yorkshire cities and several towns in the coming weeks.

As well as the three biggest markets, many others are also held around the region, from Scarborough to Skipton, Harrogate to Halifax and Barnsley to Bradford.

We take a look at where some of the markets are set to be held and what they will offer.

York Christmas Market is held on Parliament Street and St Sampson's Square, with alpine chalets selling festive gifts and refreshments from 12 November until 21 December.

Stalls will be open from 10:30-19:00 from Wednesday to Monday - but will be closed on Tuesdays to help ease congestion in the city centre.

City of York Council voted to keep the market closed for one day a week after concerns were raised about people being unable to use blue badge parking spaces during the event.

The council said 80% of traders are from Yorkshire, giving shoppers an opportunity to support local businesses.

Christmas will be coming to the setting of Channel 5's 'All Creatures Great and Small' with markets being held in Grassington on Saturday 28 November and 5 December.

A Christmas market is also being held on Skipton's High Street on Sunday 6 and 13 December between 10:00-16:00.

In Leeds, the festive cheer spills into City Square, Millennium Square and Victoria Gardens from 19 November until 23 December.

In City Square - near the railway station - visitors will find Thor's Winter Village, which includes stalls from local and independent businesses and food and drink from city eateries.

Millennium Square and Victoria Gardens will host more stalls and rides, with a carousel, a big wheel and an ice rink.

Visitors will find Bavarian-inspired market cabins, gluhwein bars and bratwurst stalls.

There will be workshops, pop-up markets and live music on offer at Darley Street Market in Bradford.

The programme of events will begin on 6 December with Christmas carols, a festive workshop and a market with more than 15 independent traders in the courtyard.

The events at the market, which opened last year, will run through until 31 December.

At the Piece Hall in Halifax there will be arts and crafts on offer for families, Christmas markets and a pantomime.

The festivities at the former Georgian cloth hall begin on 13 November with a Christmas light switch on.

Sheffield Christmas Market will return to Fargate, Pinstone Street and The Moor, while the city centre will also boast an artificial ice rink, big wheel and snow slide.

The markets start on 12 November and will be open between 10:00-18:00 each day until Christmas Eve.

Food and drink outlets will be open throughout, with the bars open for an extra hour on Fridays and Saturdays.

For the first time, a free, ticketed celebration will be held on Devonshire Green over the opening weekend.

Councillor Ben Miskell, chair of the city council's economic development, skills and culture committee, said: "It's going to be Sheffield's biggest and most ambitious Christmas ever."

The Glass Works in Barnsley will host festivities with its True North Après-Ski Tipi.

It will be the first time a tipi has featured at the markets, with the event running from 4 December until New Year's Eve.

Independent traders will be at Barnsley's Artisan Street Fayre between 4-6 December and 18-20 December.

In Doncaster, there will be a Christmas indoor market on at the Corn Exchange between 10:00-16:00 on 6 December, filled with handmade gifts from local makers.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.